Ranchi, Nov 30 (KNN) The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Jharkhand have decided to reach the high court against the 75 per cent job quota for locals, reported TOI.

This move is to contest the Chief Minister Hemant Soren government’s Jharkhand State Employment for Local Candidates Law of 2021 which mandates private companies to fill up 75% of their unskilled workforce with local employees.

It is said that the associations have drawn inspiration from the high court of Punjab & Haryana which gave a judgement on November 17 striking down a similar law of the Haryana government which entailed 75 per cent job quota under the monthly pay band of Rs 40,000 for domicile holders in private companies.

Several umbrella bodies, including the Ranchi-based Jharkhand Small Industries Association (JSIA) and the East Singhbhum-based Adityapur Small Industries Association (ASIA) have united for this matter.

“We are meeting in Ranchi on December 2 to discuss the issue among our committee members before taking further steps,” JSIA president Anjay Pacheriwal said on Wednesday.

JSIA and ASIA said the law has become a pain for entrepreneurs in the absence of a clear definition of “locals” by the state government and they are being forced to pay up hefty penalties despite not being at fault.

“We as employers must submit residential certificates of our employees to prove that they are locals. That apart, the employers will also have to submit the details of their workforce to the government every three months. In case we cannot prove our employees are locals, we must pay fines up to Rs 50,000,” Pacheriwal said.

Ex-JSIA president and a Ranchi-based entrepreneur Philip Mathew said, “My factory is in Hardag near Khunti and since the 1980s, all my employees hail from six villages located nearby. But in the absence of a residential policy, I cannot prove that they are locals.” Ranchi has close to 1,000 MSME units which employ roughly 30,000 unskilled forces who are paid monthly salaries of Rs 40,000 or below.

(KNN Bureau)